We found a comfortable hotel on the edge of the city's Vondel Park and a short walk from the city-centre and museums. On arrival we checked in, dumped our bags and went on an exploration walk ending up in the Leidseplein, a square surrounded by bars, cafes and restaurants. We took up position at one of outdoor tables and had our first Dutch beer while watching the world go by. Later we wandered around the area and had a traditional Indonesian Rijsttafal for supper, delicious!
|
We had booked tickets to the exhibition at 10:00 AM the next morning and we were definitely not disappointed. The paintings were displayed in such a way as to show the similarities of the two artists and the influence they had had on each other. Where they were available, paintings of the same scenes of objects were placed next to each other. Lots of the famous paintings were there, from the Sunflowers to The Bedroom and many other amazing ones, some we knew and lots we had not seen before. As part of the exhibition we were given an audio and a booklet guide, both of which were really informative and interesting, it really was a great privilege to be standing in front of such remarkable works of art! We spent the rest of the day wandering the city on a bit of a natural high visiting the floating flower market, sampling fresh herring from fish stalls, walking along and over the city canals and, in Dutch tradition, having a pancake for lunch.
|
The following day was to be a day of natural beauty. We took a train and bus ride to Keukenhof, the "Spring Garden of Europe", a 32 hectare park with over 7 MILLION bulb flowers supplied by over 100 flower companies! The flowers include Tulips (of course), Crocuses, Orchids and a variety of others all laid out in beautiful formations amongst trees, lakes, cafes, hothouses and a windmill. No matter where we looked or walked each view was more amazing than the last with flowers in brilliant colours, sizes and shapes.
